Progress Thread '88 Gt Project Blue Storm

[General karthief]

Now where did I bury that bag of money
Sucks get'n old

 

[Murkstang]

I really dig the Dakota four eye instrument cluster as well. I'll have to choke up a chunk of change for it. Maybe when my build gets to that stage the money fairy will drop of some money for me!

Seriously though, i'm going to try and get one. Let us know what it takes to get yours installed, i'll be very interested.

Will do! I hope the weather starts clearing up soon. My goal is to have it all back together by the end of summer. I think it's a little optimistic though, seeing as how I would like to take most of the old interior out, and put new in.

 

[Chuckman]

In for details on that harness kit once you get going on it, I've been eyeballing it over at lmr for a while but it's way down on the priority list.

 

[Murkstang]

Making a little progress in between rain. So far the AAW kit seems to be simplified. The ford harness seems to have much more going on. Not sure until I compare them side by side though.

This is the reason I'm installing the kit. I mean, just these wires aren't something I couldn't deal with it, but the dude has this type of stuff all over. ALL OVER. NOPE.

 

[Davedacarpainter]

Making a little progress in between rain. So far the AAW kit seems to be simplified. The ford harness seems to have much more going on. Not sure until I compare them side by side though.

This is the reason I'm installing the kit. I mean, just these wires aren't something I couldn't deal with it, but the dude has this type of stuff all over. ALL OVER. NOPE.

Wow! That's some pretty impressive work there. Luckily it seems to be towards the end of that monster wiring harness. Not that it's not important, just easier to figure out. Did the PO just mainly dick with the radio harness?

BTW, did you have fun pulling your instrument panel......LOL I pulled mine when it was 10* and i had to hurry because the sun was going down and i forgot to bring a light with me and my phone battery died!

 

[Murkstang]

Did the PO just mainly dick with the radio harness?

BTW, did you have fun pulling your instrument panel......LOL I pulled mine when it was 10* and i had to hurry because the sun was going down and i forgot to bring a light with me and my phone battery died!

He has also messed with the Headlight wiring, the ignition wiring, he's added A-pillar gauges before, and it all resembles the same workmanship. I'm sure more I just haven't got around to yet, also.

Actually it was super easy, because I've had it out before because virtually nothing on the instrument cluster worked, so I barely put it back together, because I knew this day was coming soon enough. Also, I've pulled a few on old Explorer and Rangers instrument clusters to add LEDs and it's nearly the same job.

 

[Murkstang]

Another update. I now have the dash harness removed! And oh my God the front body wiring was nuts. I am blown away anything worked in this car. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures while I was doing it, but I do have some on my computer for before and after pics.

The stock harness is definitely more chunky. Im assuming it's because of cruise control, A/C, Air bags, etc. (did 88 GT's have airbags?)

Now probably one of the hardest parts. I have to sort through this, and salvage any connectors I need, and other wiring the AAW kit might not do, like the trunk release, fuel door etc.

This is only the beginning though. I still have to remove the full interior. And get the old rear body harness out

 

[General karthief]

No airbags in 88
Unless you count the one's on fb

 

[Murkstang]

Ayyy I'm back! No pics for this post, but I plan to get some posted this weekend. I finally have the interior completely gutted.

Unfortunately I have some sad news: I'm sure some of you have seen my post about my subframe on the drivers side being bent, and the infamous previous owner(s) compensating by welding plates to the SFC. Pretty. dang. lame. I don't know how I missed it when I looked at the car. Oh well. To top it off my floor pan is cracking and rather badly me thinks.

So now my plans are to finish the AAW wiring, get the Ford Performance EFI wiring, and get my car running and working again. Then I'm going to cut off the SFC's, take it to a body shop, and see if they can fix my subframe, if so, I'll then replace my floor pan, and weld on new SFC's and as many braces and supports that I can.

...If not I'm buying a 4 cyl.

Good news is, I've about completed the dash harness, but I have a couple questions.

How is the alternator light wiring? Do I have to have the incandescent light with the resistor around it? Or can I just wire an LED between it and the ignition source? Can I just connect it directly to an ignition source and rely on my battery gauge?
As far as I can tell right now, any of those are plausible, as it just needs the power to excite the circuit, correct?

Also does anybody have a wiring diagram for the trunk, and fuel door release buttons? If not, I can probably figure it out but I think that would help a lot.

I guess for now I'm going to use the stereo constant power wire and connect that to my Dakota Digital computer. I don't really have plans right now to install one, so I figure why not? It's a convenient, fused circuit. However, that idea also bothers the hell out of me. We'll see.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans and me crying about previous owner(s) shoddy workmanship!

 

[Murkstang]

Here's some pics.

This was the headlight switch wiring. That's a fire waiting to happen. Lol

Its ready to have a battery installed in the rear! COOL! I love that it has a standard hex bolt, AND a carriage bolt! Genius!

Splice connector thing on the fuel pump wiring. Why? Just so it can corrode I assume.

The cracks in the floor pan. Drivers side:

Passenger side:

So here we are now. Gutted and gave it a wipe down with a rag. She was filthy.

Also notice the wood chunks remaining where he had a piece of plywood glued around the spare tire well? How could he get to the dope battery box? A minor flaw in his design I say.

 

[Murkstang]

So far, this is where I'm at with the dash harness. Not much more I can do until I install it into the vehicle, and figure out exactly how it's going to be ran.

Overall pleased with the quality, although the connectors seem a bit cheap. However, after looking for connectors online, I can't blame them, it's either random cheap stuff, Deutsche connectors, or Weather Pack. I do like how easy they are to disconnect though.

 

[5.0Droptop]

I haven't really contributed much useful info to this thread, or any other thread or this site for that matter. .

Fixt

 

[Murkstang]

It just keeps getting better. The intake is cracked and bent on a corner. The old valve covers are cracked on a corner and my new Ford Racing valve covers do not clear the roller rockers. So what I'm going to do is RTV the sh** out of it, just like it was, and run the engine until it releases the shmoo. I just can't justify or afford the cost to build this engine back up because who knows what else I'd run into. But I want to at the very least, get the new engine harness, and complete my wiring. Get it running again, and decide what to do then. The rabbit hole just keeps getting deeper with this thing. It's mind boggling, really.

Using my new valve covers as a straight edge.

Does anybody want to buy "used as a straight edge" Ford Racing valve covers?!

$180 shipped.

 

[90sickfox]

They used to sell valve cover spacers to raise them up. I friend of mine just bought a set last year so I'm sure you can find them. ..... Found them here's a screen shot. I guess the intake may need a spacer too.

The guy I know used them to hide roller rocker's under stock valve covers.

 

[Murkstang]

They used to sell valve cover spacers to raise them up. I friend of mine just bought a set last year so I'm sure you can find them. ..... Found them here's a screen shot. I guess the intake may need a spacer too.

The guy I know used them to hide roller rocker's under stock valve covers.

Thanks for the advice. I'll look into it more. But yeah, then there might be clearance issues with the intake which also as of right now is virtually garbage in my eyes. I was thinking about trying to straighten it a bit, have somebody weld the crack, then have it machined down. (probably what I'll do)

I also thought about grinding the valve covers where it's hitting, but I'm worried it doesn't have enough material to shave off or will compromise the integrity of the VC. Other than that, I'm not sure what to do. I would like to have the whole PCV system working again. Or can I remove the whole PCV system without any real issues? The ones it had are carbed engine VCs.

Doesn't seem to be many options, with these heads with the massive springs/roller rockers. Do you know of any EFI valve covers that do fit these Holley heads?

 

[Murkstang]

Double post.

 

[90sickfox]

Any tall valve cover should work. With the tall valve covers you'll need a phenolic spacer for your type of intake.

What brand intake do you have ?

 

[Murkstang]

It's the Edelbrock Performer RPM 7125. It does already have a about a 1/2" spacer, and I think it barely cleared.

 

[mikestang63]

It just keeps getting better. The intake is cracked and bent on a corner. The old valve covers are cracked on a corner and my new Ford Racing valve covers do not clear the roller rockers. So what I'm going to do is RTV the sh** out of it, just like it was, and run the engine until it releases the shmoo. I just can't justify or afford the cost to build this engine back up because who knows what else I'd run into. But I want to at the very least, get the new engine harness, and complete my wiring. Get it running again, and decide what to do then. The rabbit hole just keeps getting deeper with this thing. It's mind boggling, really.

Using my new valve covers as a straight edge.

Does anybody want to buy "used as a straight edge" Ford Racing valve covers?!

$180 shipped.

have you tried the double thick cork gaskets?

 

[90sickfox]

In theory, you could stack the blue neoprene gaskets to get clearance. They have metal inside them and won't leak. I've had a set for a long long time....no leaks. Those things have been off and on too many times to count.